Mastodawn

Fascinating.

How a dose of MDMA transformed a white supremacist

“Brendan was once a leader in the US white nationalist movement. But when he took the drug MDMA in a scientific study, it would radically change his extremist beliefs – to the surprise of everyone involved.”

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230614-how-a-dose-of-mdma-transformed-a-white-supremacist

How a dose of MDMA transformed a white supremacist

Brendan was once a leader in the US white nationalist movement. But when he took the drug MDMA in a scientific study, it would radically change his extremist beliefs.

BBC

⁂ Fish Id Wardrobe Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker Dear gods – MDMA is like the drug from "Satan's Children"!

Satan's Children is a fanciful SF short by Spider Robinson in which the world is reformed via a road-trip where the protagonists secretly dose key figures with a new drug that a) makes you want to tell the truth and b) makes you want to "get straight with everyone".

This is clearly a pleasant power fantasy on SR's part. The idea that there could be a drug that did 10% of that is astonishing.

eyajpng Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker @JoshuaACNewman Always a bit fraught to attribute massive social/behavioral changes in a person to the action of a drug (as opposed to a significant experience that partially involved a drug)…buuuuuuut I gotta say, MDMA really is something special that probably the majority of people could benefit from trying in the right circumstances.

Joshua A.C. Newman Jun 16, 2023

@jepyang @WarnerCrocker The article is careful@to say that the molecule didn’t fix the guy— he still struggles — but it also made it possible for him to access empathy that he couldn’t before.

eyajpng Jun 16, 2023

@JoshuaACNewman Yeah, the article was solid; the headline is pretty sensationalist tho

juanma Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker Think in Spain we need now some doses for our politicians

Davie Duck Jun 16, 2023

@fakingphysics @WarnerCrocker also in Italy and the US

SofaKingHigh Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker I mean complete speculation here but maybe like lsd/shrooms it resets certain chemical levels or pathways in the brain?

Kickstink Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker fascinating, as de-radicalization stories usually are. Something it skips over though is whether or not Brendan continued to take MDMA during his continued rehabilitation? I’m assuming not, as it seems to be referring to his case as a rare singular event.

Winchell Chung ⚛🚀Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker
So we have to dump tons of the stuff in the drinking water reservoirs?

Michael Gemar Jun 15, 2023

@nyrath @WarnerCrocker That and some lithium and the world would be a better place.

Peter Kisner ≈Jun 15, 2023

@nyrath @WarnerCrocker
Er... not sure if that's the takeaway.
The article made it seem like a double-edged sword. It could make a person care more about their in-group, but possibly also defend more adamantly against would-be out-group threats.

It sounds like a lot of variation from person to person. Possibly more effective in this case cause this guy happened to take it while he was already questioning things about himself. Even he admits it wasn't 100% effective.

Jon PENNYCOOK Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker the reduction in violent football hooliganism in the UK coincided with the rise of acid house/rave culture and its use of ecstasy

Warner Crocker Jun 15, 2023

@jonpsp Fascinating.

🗽 🇺🇦 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇺🇸 😷Jun 15, 2023

@WarnerCrocker @AndyPerfors The Denazify Pill !!! “denazifumab”

@WarnerCrocker SEND THE CHEMTRAILS

John Dewey Jun 16, 2023

@WarnerCrocker I had such a good laugh when I read the angry angry fellow had hired a DEI consultant. And then the article mentions that members of the Taliban were using MDMA. I was thinking "this can't be a real article, can it?" but it was! Maybe a little more wild in its first half, but quite legit and good. Real doctors, real scientists. What a great article. Thank you so much!

Warner Crocker Jun 16, 2023